Unsupported 3CX Installation without Removing apache?

[sfriday022]

Folks.. I have a question... is there a way to install 3CX on debian without removing Apache configs on unrelated ports? Right now it automatically deinstalls
apache server. I dont care if NGINX sits on 80,443, 8443,8080,5001, 5000 but my customers dont want to buy two servers as in general NGINX rewrite doesnt work,
and apache has some special modules we need.

I know I can probably re-install apache from source without APT knowing about it, but I wondered if there was another way. Thanks

And Please dont bother writing a sarcastic comment about its a bad idea.. installing 1RU server appliances that do a single function is in my opinion a bad idea.

Alternatively can I install 3CX first with NGINX, and then simply install apache with source, and build new vhost files for 3cx? As I understand the first versions of 3CX
ran on Apache server.

 

[Evolute IT]

Folks.. I have a question... is there a way to install 3CX on debian without removing Apache configs on unrelated ports? Right now it automatically deinstalls
apache server. I dont care if NGINX sits on 80,443, 8443,8080,5001, 5000 but my customers dont want to buy two servers as in general NGINX rewrite doesnt work,
and apache has some special modules we need.

I know I can probably re-install apache from source without APT knowing about it, but I wondered if there was another way. Thanks

And Please dont bother writing a sarcastic comment about its a bad idea.. installing 1RU server appliances that do a single function is in my opinion a bad idea.

Alternatively can I install 3CX first with NGINX, and then simply install apache with source, and build new vhost files for 3cx? As I understand the first versions of 3CX
ran on Apache server.

You should be installing 3CX using PBXexpress or the 3CX Debian10 ISO. Not manually and not on a server running something else.

If they don't wanna "buy" another server, then spin up VMs on Vsphere (free for small installs) and stick to supported stuff.

3CX won't support installing the PBX nor the SBC on a machine running something else, specially not a web server.

 

[sfriday022]

Well I appreciate that, but I build images of systems that I want to use again... and I usually build scripts from the command line. Hosts are valuable, appliances in general are not for enterprises who wont use public cloud. Most customers pay MNS for machines that they spin up so even if they appear to be free, they usually are not. So the question stands. And yes I have installed the product many many many times successfully on at least three generations of code... it just seems like uninstalling Apache is a problem. NGINX has problems with all the major CMS vendors including Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal. The issue is on Search Friendly URL's and Rewrite which doesnt work as well as on apache. NGINX proxy to apache is very effective so I am not opposed to doing that, but I simply dont want 3cx to uninstall apache configs on a host.

I have never tried the ISO, are you suggesting it has a different script?

 

[sfriday022]

well installing apache2 from source does work, but it takes a lot more work.... In the end Apt cant know its there....
I tried to apt-get hold apache and that still gave an error. And I tried to apt-get hold 3cxpbx and apt-get hold nginx... but again there is a pkg installation hold being injected by the 3cx installer.

And for the record standard cpanel servers have Apache and Nginx installed but its their version of it....(Easy-Apache) and thats even harder to deal with... but it is possible if you install 3cxpbx first before cpanel or anything else you are doing.

In summary you follow the 3CX instructions and add Webmin and Apache from source.

 

[Evolute IT]

well installing apache2 from source does work, but it takes a lot more work.... In the end Apt cant know its there....
I tried to apt-get hold apache and that still gave an error. And I tried to apt-get hold 3cxpbx and apt-get hold nginx... but again there is a pkg installation hold being injected by the 3cx installer.

And for the record standard cpanel servers have Apache and Nginx installed but its their version of it....(Easy-Apache) and thats even harder to deal with... but it is possible if you install 3cxpbx first before cpanel or anything else you are doing.

In summary you follow the 3CX instructions and add Webmin and Apache from source.

Unfortunately we are not gonna be able to help you. What you're trying to do is literally the definition of unsupported by 3CX.

The PBX is the PBX. It should not have anything else installed in it.

Webmin and stuff like that should be on a cloud web server, not on a PBX machine.

And yes, use the ISO. It is preconfigured for the 3CX software and is supported. However, don't start messing it up with custom scripts or you'll fall unsupported again.

 

[sfriday022]

well I have built a server which works either way... just like cPanel... but its really a host... and a Host is quote a different thing. so here's what I did and you can close this out:
1) I downloaded the Mysql Repositories for 5.6, and removed the Debian Backports links as they arent needed for 3cx. (Galera doesnt work for what I am trying to do longterm).
2) I got PHP installed properly using the Surrey repository, then I removed the repository so that it wont try to update mysql as well.
3) I installed three 3cx from the command line.
4) I froze 3cxpx and mysql in apt (apt-mark hold 3cxpx)(apt-mark hold mysql) so that apache cant remove it, and nothing can mess with my sql servers (postgres and mysql).
5) I installed apache with all of the mods from source outside of apt to 2.4.
6) I set up a proxy server to point from NGINX which listens to the big ports to Apache as necessary.
7) I am running Apache with 5.6 PHP so that I can get to old software, and run new ones on NGINX... and Im happy.

 

[ChrisC_3CX]

@sfriday022
Thank you for providing your solution.

For anyone else reading this, just bear in mind that, as mentioned previously, this is an unsupported configuration meaning that, regardless of whether it works or not, it will void 3CX support and prevent us from guaranteeing normal functionality, so please consider this before proceeding with implementing this or similar setups.